"I'm skeptical," Lucina commented as they walked through the village, "Most of the villages around here had been hit hard by bandits, yet this one suddenly gains the ability to repel them?"
"From what I gathered," Robin answered, "They lucked into a defender. One person apparently turned back the attack. Unfortunately, she seemed to have no interest in staying. They convinced her to stay with free room and board, but she's apparently spent most of her time exploring since."
"Well, as skeptical as I may be, if the story is true, then she could be quite the boon to our forces."
"I agree. Which is why I have everyone else out looking for her. With any luck they'll find her, but if not, we'll be here waiting for her when she comes back."
"I suppose that gives us some time to relax."
"So it would seem," Robin smiled. The two had been…close since the bit in the clearing. Seeing Lucina so happy had really boosted his own morale even if things still went unsaid between the two of them. For now, he was content with the simple smiles and somewhat unknowing glances of affection.
However, they did not have much time to bask in each other's presence as some sort of commotion soon broke out. Quick to act, Robin and Lucina raced off to find the source of the problem only to find a very perturbed and scarred bandit leader out for some revenge.
"Of course," Robin groaned, "Probably only a small force before." The tactician quickly started analyzing the situation, "I think we can take them, but avoiding collateral might be difficult."
"We will just have to do the best we can," Lucina spoke in her battle stance. Together the two of them could be quite the force to be reckoned with, but the terrain did not lend itself well to a bottleneck making it hard to be an effective wall if some of them opted to try and go around them while they were busy.
The two set about fulfilling Robin's makeshift battle plan. As predicted, the brigands did eventually start trying to take advantage of their preoccupation. Robin and Lucina attempted to adapt, but there were quite a few of them to deal with.
However, as their line was in danger of being breached, a pillar of fire stopped some of the advancing bandits in their tracks. Lucina looked to Robin, but he did not have a fire tome out. Looking back to the action, Lucina caught the glint of the sun off of a blade before a figure quickly leapt into the fray.
Despite her previous misgivings, it was clear that this young woman was skilled with the blade and tome, but there was more to it. She seemed to wield an almost superhuman strength not unlike herself thanks to her brand. It seemed to be the only explanation for how someone of such slight build managed to overpower these muscle-bound brutes. In addition, her style seemed familiar yet foreign all at the same time.
The newcomer was easily able to shore up their defenses allowing them to route the threat without much trouble. Once they were bested, Robin went to thank the girl, but he seemingly froze after seeing something. The girl likewise looked like she was about to burst.
Stepping closer, Lucina got a good idea what had caused Robin's reaction. On her belt was a Falchion. Lucina looked to her side despite having just sheathed it. Her Falchion was still there, and she doubted someone burgled Chrom's while they were away to go exploring the countryside.
The girl on the other hand, looked like she was about to have an aneurism looking at Robin. If her smile got any wider, Lucina worried that she might actually hurt herself somehow. It made for a very strange situation all things considered, and she was not sure who would move first.
It turned out that the girl would end up breaking the stalemate as she hurled herself toward him yelling, "Father!"
Robin grimaced as the girl seemed to be exerting a bit too much of that magically enhanced strength. Eventually he gained enough wherewithal to pry her off of him. Once he did so, he looked to Lucina for some sort of explanation, but she was just as dumbfounded as he was.
"Excuse me, but did you say 'father?'"
"Of course! I'm so glad I found you. I woke up in a field, and I had no idea where I was or where to start looking." The girl sniffed, "But here you are! Were you looking for me? You were totally looking for me, weren't you?"
"Uh, I've never seen you before today."
"What?" The girl's face fell so hard that Lucina momentarily forgot her own suspicions and felt an uncanny sympathy for her, "H-how can you say that? Don't you remember me? Morgan, your little girl?"
"Look at me," Robin replied quickly thinking on his feet, "I hardly look old enough to have a daughter as old as you."
"I-I guess you do look a little young, but…then what's going on."
"Well, normally I'd say you must have come from another world with Lucina here, but–" Robin trailed off and let Lucina finish.
"Robin had no child in my world," The bluenette finished sternly staring into the young girl's confused eyes before her gaze shifted to the weapon on her hilt, "Your blade, may I see it?"
"Uh, sure?" She felt a bit anxious handing it away, but Robin gave her a slight nod of reassurance.
Lucina gave it a few tentative swings, but before Robin could get a handle on what she thought of it, she pushed it into his arms, "Try to cut something."
"Uh, what?" Robin was confused, but something about the sword also made him uncomfortable. He did not know why, but he would have rather stopped holding it sooner rather than later.
"Just do it. Please," Lucina added more as an afterthought. Robin shrugged and found the nearest piece of debris that would work and gave a nice, clean swing. Nothing really happened though. The plank was barely chipped. Robin looked at the edge again, and it certainly looked sharped.
"I see," Lucina murmured, "You may return it."
Robin did so, and at this point, both coat wearers were curious as to what was going on. Lucina let out a sigh before addressing them.
"The sword is genuine. It is Falchion. At least, a Falchion. The fact that the girl could wield it means…"
Robin's mouth suddenly felt a bit dry, "She's of the exalted bloodline."
"Yes," Lucina nodded, "Given the fact she inherited Falchion…" The implication was clear as Robin turned back to the girl.
"Um, you're sure that I'm your father?"
"Yes! At least…a you. This is all a bit weird."
"You have no idea," Robin murmured, "Well, uh, what about your mother?"
"Ngh, sorry, head's a bit fuzzy about just about everything else."
"Well, allow me to introduce you. This," Robin gestured to Lucina, "Is apparently, probably your mother."
"Huh?" Morgan tilted her head. Come to think of it, she did look familiar. After a few seconds of staring, it seemed to click and Morgan's face lit up again, "Mother!"
Lucina was at a loss as the girl buried herself into the hug with muffled cries of…something. Robin and Lucina shared a glance. This was not going to be fun to explain.